Who goes there? Please leave comments so (An Aries Knows)!
Just in case you’ve ever wondered, whenever I promote a business or product on An Aries Knows (everything), it’s because I actually frequent that establishment or use that product. Or buy that artist’s work. Or believe in and donate time or money to that organization. Or watch that movie or TV show. Nobody’s ever paid me for product placement.
I didn’t even get a Fiat 500, dammit.
ETA 2022: Dr. King could have no idea how this quote would resonate with me, come back to me again and again, and help me consciously make important choices from 2016 until… well, it’s still an ongoing effort.
The folks at Photo Friday are taking a break this week but will return next week. In the meantime…um…have some fudge!
Dear Fiat:
I haven’t heard from you since I first communicated. But I just got a text from my friend Jim, who said I’d be very cute in a Fiat 500. And Jim KNOWS CARS, so it must be true.
If you’ve been planning to surprise me on Christmas Day, please disregard this nudge.
Sincerely,
Becky
Dear Fiat:
Last week on Bravo’s Work of Art, the artists were given time to grab auto parts for your Fiat 500 and turn them into a work of art. Coincidentally, I received a packet in the mail advertising the Fiat 500. I believe this was a sign!
I decided to use bits and pieces of your sales material in my creation for the Follow Work of Art blog. Lindsey suggested that since we wouldn’t have access to Fiat car parts, we should do a sculptural piece inspired by a car or any part of a car. Mine is not a sculptural piece. It’s a fabric-and-paper-on-foam-board tribute to the Fiat 500. Here’s how it turned out:
What may not be immediately apparent is that the center Fiat is actually a cut-out through which you can see cracked concrete. That, and the title, are meant to convey to you how my heart is still not over the loss of my Honda CR-V after it was totaled in April 2010. As I considered this challenge, I realized my most immediate connection to a car is: I DON’T HAVE ONE. In Houston! A city that’s just as car-centric as Los Angeles!
I figured I’d write you a letter and show you my tribute and promise you that if you give me a Fiat 500, I would blog about an adventure in it EVERY DAY FOR A YEAR! That’s advertising for you at the cost of a (reasonably priced!) car, which is probably a hundredth of a second of Super Bowl ad time.
I know what you’re thinking: We haven’t even given those Work of Art people a car, and who the hell are you anyway?
While it’s true that I don’t have the readership of some popular bloggers, let’s take a look at a few of them.
First, there’s dooce.com. Sure, Heather Armstrong has a ton of loyal readers, but she already does product endorsements. I’d be exclusive to Fiat! Also, she’s a mommy blogger. That means she has kids. She doesn’t need a Fiat 500, she needs a minivan or an SUV. If you gave her a Fiat, she’d probably just turn it into an apartment for her Mythical Bobcat.
Then there’s Hyperbole and A Half. When Allie Brosh posts, she gets like five thousand comments, but she blogs only every two months or so. I’m promising you 365 blog entries! Do the math: more blog for your buck.
Of course, The Bloggess also has a large readership, and Jenny Lawson would probably even promise to wear a wolf pelt while driving her free car. I don’t own a wolf pelt. I also don’t own a car. Jenny Lawson does. Enough said.
Finally, there’s The Pioneer Woman, who I don’t read. All I can say is: Look at her blog’s name! Free covered wagon? Yes! Free Fiat 500? I think not.
Clearly, in every way, I’m the more deserving recipient of a free will-blog-for car.
If you don’t agree, does one of your executives have his or her deceased aunt’s Oldsmobile taking up space in the garage? I’ll accept it in lieu of a Fiat 500, but I can’t promise that My Adventures in Aunt Susan’s Olds will have quite the appeal of My Adventures in a Fiat 500.
Sincerely,
Becky
From time to time, I like to share a household tip I learn from sad experience. Here’s a new one. Did you know if you put a plastic container on a stove burner that was just used to heat bacon grease in a skillet for cornbread, that plastic container will melt?
BUT–did you also know if you got lazy one day and picked up some Kroger cole slaw instead of making it yourself, the plastic container could be used for leftovers, but if you should happen to, say, melt it, it wouldn’t be a big loss?
See, this post is FULL of helpful tips. Just call me Heloise.
Since it’s been all Button Sunday/MagPo posts around these parts, I figured I’m past due speaking of what’s going on at The Compound.
Yes, I voted. Early voted, in fact. And I’m so glad this election season is over because the number of phone calls I was getting drove me nearly crazy and distracted me from….uh… whatever it is I do around here.
There have been Craft Nights. And game-watching parties. I’ve been packing away dolls until the next Project Runway season, though I’m not sure I’ll be doing doll fashions again. I always feel this way–a little burned out–after a season of Runway Monday, then I start getting the itch to sew again and am relieved when a new season begins. So we’ll see. Feel free to CLAMOR FOR MORE FASHION in the comments.
My sister is coming to spend Thanksgiving with us. As you may recall, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and Thanksgiving meals are the ones I most enjoy cooking. Rumor has it my sister-wife Kathy S will be here for Thanksgiving dinner, too. Hope so! I’m also hoping these flowers endure until my sister’s arrival, because she did some of the pruning and grooming that resulted in their being so lovely this autumn, despite Houston’s drought:
Lindsey, Tim, and I pre-ordered our opening night movie tickets for Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1. I’ve never watched one of the movies with an entirely first-time audience, and I vowed to do so before the franchise ends just for the silly fun of it. It should be a happy audience but not as squealy as it could be since it’s a midnight movie and at least SOME youngsters should be home, if not in bed asleep, at that hour. As promised, when the movie opens, this month’s vampire poetry will end. Thank you again, Marika, for those Twilight-themed words.
Don’t think we’ll be finished with mythical creatures, however, because guess what arrived in the mail this week?
The original sparkly legend! Yay!
Speaking of mythological creatures, Tim and I have been watching Lost on Netflix. We just finished the first season and are either through the first or second episodes of the second season. I’m SO GLAD I didn’t watch this when it was first run, because I’d have been tormented by the cliffhangers. As I learned years ago from watching Sex and the City on DVDs, I enjoy television much more when my viewing isn’t spaced out over years. Otherwise, it’s difficult for me to sustain interest. This partially comes of not being in a workplace where a previous night’s shows get discussed in the break room or at lunchtime, although Tom tells me that doesn’t happen as frequently in these days of TiVo and DVRs.
I’ve been battling a headache for a couple of days with pharmaceuticals and naps, but last night I ventured out to meet Gilbert Ruiz to purchase this sketch from him. I first saw it on his Flickr account in September 2010 and laid claim to it then. When he recently opened up more of his works for sale, I knew the time had come to make it mine.
Gilbert also has a painting based on this sketch that I wish I could purchase. Maybe one day! Without going into too much detail, the sketch perfectly illustrates one of the to-be-written novels inside my head. So far, Gilbert is the only person who’s put it to paper (from his own creativity; he didn’t know about my novel idea), but I’m hoping his sketch will help me get it from my brain into words. It’s long overdue.
On my way to meet Gilbert, I was at one of the worst/busiest intersections in our neighborhood at rush hour when I witnessed a car hit a man and his dog. I joined several others in giving assistance. There were injuries to both, but none of them fatal or requiring medical help at the scene (dog definitely was headed toward ER vet). There’s a lot more to this incident, but really all I want to say is PLEASE be cautious drivers and pedestrians. Awful things can happen when any of us stops being observant for even a second.
Some thoughts on secrets:
Thanks, Marika, for another post-inspiring button.